Keeping It Frugal

My thoughts about life and money.

About Me

Laura

Through mis-management of my money in my early twenties I learned a lot of life lessons - both financial and personal. After 12+ years of teaching, and 3 years of working as a school-librarian, I moved to Nebraska and found a job outside of school/library with good benefits and okay pay. The move was mainly to pursue the possibility of a long-term relationship ...

Archive for February, 2009

Seriously though, Yesterday I was talking with some people about my whole life/work situation. I told them how I just was feeling unsure about going the technical school route, and how none of my options really excited me.

One of the people asked me what were my greatest passions in life. I immediately responded: children, books and computers!

Since they already knew that I don't wish to go back into the classroom, they suggested that I might enjoy being a school librarian!

I mulled over that idea most of last night (and overslept this morning getting to the gym!) Then today I spent a good bit of time researching it and thinking about it.

It just feels right. I am going to go back to school and get my Masters in Library Science with Certification for being a School Librarian.

My next step is to refresh my math skills, etc., and then to take the GRE.

Then, I am going to present a proposal to the WIA people as to why they should pay for me to get my Masters (or at least enough credits to get the certification) instead of paying for me to go to a technical school.

Whether or not they are willing to help me out, I am going to do this. It will just be more financially difficult without their help.

If I am accepted into the program, then that means I will be here in Texas for at least another year.

University of North Texas is where I am thinking of going. They have an on campus option, and an on-line option. If I can, I'm going to see if I can do some combination of the two options to provide the most flexibility.

I am truly excited about this!

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I heard back from one of the Craigslist ads I responded to yesterday. I am to call on Monday to set up an interview. It is a part time position that pays $12/hr.
But, if I can combine it with my gym job, then maybe it'll be enough to manage through school without cutting into savings too much.

Another ad I responded to was for a Market Research company. They were looking for people to call possible research participants for studies (people already signed up in the database.) I love focus groups (free, easy money!) so I think this could be quite fun too. AND their office is *really* close by.

I searched a bit around their main website and found a name of the person who I think is doing the hiring - so my cover email used that person's name. Genius if I'm right, bozo if I'm wrong. But, at least I'm trying right?

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In doing research for today's blog post, I came across a really neat freebie site for sharing videos with friends and family. I've already set up a site for myself and uploaded my first video - so easy and best of all, free!

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I have to tell you about this book I've been reading the past few days. I first saw it in Barnes and Nobles three or four years ago, and wrote the title in my notepad. Just this past week I finally got it from the library.

From the moment I read the first paragraph, I was guffawing. Seriously. It is a Young Adult book, but if you remember anything at all about being a teenager, I think you too will get a kick out of this book.

"The Year of Secret Assignments" by Jaclyn Moriarty.

Here's an excerpt from the first chapter:

Writing Prompt:
We bet you just wrote down 'grass,' "water," "sky" etc. Maybe you noticed the coffee cup, but we bet you didn't notice the lipstick stain on the side of the coffee cup! Now, go ahead and try again. Write down EVERYTHING that you see.

Girls response:
I don't get it. There is no coffee cup.
Ms. Yen just turned around from the board and I noticed shes getting a bit fat. The top buttons on her jeans has popped open.

She said that she didn't think there was a formula for time travel, although she does think there might be a formula to make me shut up and do my maths or else find myself laughing on the other side of my face when it comes to the half-yearlies!

If she tells me what the formula is, I'll write it out for you.

End Excerpt.

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Okay, over and out. Almost time for ER - I missed it last week and the nbc.com episode viewer STINKS.

Today on my way home from the career skills seminar, I passed by a restaurant I haven't eaten at in quite a while. Pancho's. One of the main reasons I would go to Pancho's would be for their sopapillia's. They made them the way I first learned to love them in Albuquerque.

But, alas. Sometime in the last few months it appears that Pancho's closed its doors.
So, it appears that I will not have the chance to indulge in a sopapillia craving again any time soon.

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There was a huge group today at the work center for the seminar. I would garner a guess of at least 60 people.

The seminar started late, and the presenter didn't really get through all the points she had in her outline. She was funny though, which made the time pass quickly.

Next Tuesday they are having a 3 hour session for resume writing and a 3 hour session for interviewing skills. I figure it wouldn't hurt me any to go to both of them - so I'll be spending most of Tuesday at the work center. Only two other people signed up for it out of the 60 - guess they feel like they've got their resumes just perfect.

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I wish I could turn the ac on in my apartment. It is so warm and sticky in here. I even have my ceiling fan plus a floor fan going. Yes, I know it is Feb 25 - but this is Texas remember.

1. look for birth certificate
2. Fill out WIA paperwork
3. Craigslist
4. Check work sites listings
5. Do more research on schools -- call community college about program
6. Exercise
7. Clean something
8. Set up spreadsheet for tracking applications/emails

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Any thoughts on medical transcription? I found an online course CAI that looks legit.

What about a Medical Secretary course that takes only 8 weeks? Does that sound like enough time to really train someone for real world work?

This afternoon I attended the orientation session for WIA (a program which pays your tuition, books, etc., for you to go back to school.)

The room we were in was meant to hold maybe 20 - 25 people, tops. Today, there were closer to 40 people. The center wasn't ready for quite that many people, and had to pull in chairs from other places. But, I did hear a few comments saying that the orientation sessions had been fairly large for the last six weeks or so, and getting more so every week.

When we came to the end of the orientation, the presenter handed out appointment sheets. These appointments were for us to have a one-on-one conversation with her, and take an assessment test.

The earliest date for an appointment was April 9. Ouch.

I didn't fill out an appointment sheet because this particular center isn't the closest one to me. I completed the orientation at it because it didn't conflict with my schedule at the gym.

I called the one which is closest to me to see if I could set up an appointment with them - seeing as how far out the appointments were being set. Unless the person I spoke with didn't understand what I was asking, I was told to just come in Friday at 8:45 a.m. and they'd take us in groups.

If I can find my birth certificate (yes, they require your birth certificate + social security card + driver's license, etc.) before Friday, then I'll go in this week. If not, I'll have to order one, and hopefully go in next Friday.

The school I'm looking at is A T I. (American T ech nical Ins ti tute.) It looks like they offer Business Office Admin and Medical Office Assist courses.

Does anyone know anything about this particular college? Would a certificate from this place actually be worth anything (career wise?)

So this morning after calling about Cobra (yes, I can just put the account number on the memo line) and figuring out what was going on with my work in Texas login, I got dressed for my workout.

Before heading to the gym to workout though, I stopped by Chase to make a deposit. I was hoping to be in and out in 5 to 8 minutes or less. Preferably less.

Remember - I'm dressed to go workout.

So, I go in to the lobby and fill out a deposit form. I'm standing in line for less than a minute, when one of the ladies who has a cubicle desk asks me if she can help me. I tell her I'm here to make a deposit. She tells me that she can help me - so I go sit at her desk.

The manager comes over and takes my deposit for me. (Where's that bug eyed smilie when you need it?) Somehow it comes up about how I was laid off . . . and at least *15* minutes later I am finally able to get out of there!

On the one hand, it was really good personal service. But, on the other hand, all I wanted to do was make a deposit and scadoodle!

I actually had to cut my workout a little short due to how long it took.

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I haven't had any responses yet on any of the Craigslist postings I responded to yesterday. I went through some more tonight, but didn't see any possibilities.

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I may have another person signing up at the gym under my credit. Yay!

Saturday night I went with some friends (and a bunch of their friends) to the Magic Time Machine. It was the first time I'd been there.

We had to wait about 90 minutes to get a table. While we were captive... er waiting for our table, we went upstairs. The upstairs is filled with ways to part with your pretty penny ... a Magic Show for $3/person, arcade games, a bar (not sure if they serve other than soda ..), and several people who'll do a caricature. Other than soda and water, none of us parted with any pennies upstairs.

Finally we were led to our tables (one for the adults, one for the young'ones) by two swashbuckling pirates.

One of our group who was celebrating her 40th birthday was dressed up as a granny - gray hair, fake glasses, droopy parts , a walking cane, etc. N, who was the person who helped me get my job at my previous company, will be having a birthday soon, and so he dressed up as Duff Man, the Redneck. To put it mildly, both of the celebrators, plus various others in the group, didn't need a drop of alcohol to get into the 'spirit.'

After ordering (food way overpriced - I had a baked potato for $5) we were all led on a Salad Car Train. One of our group needed to use the restroom, and was thusly led on the "needs potty training" walk.

The kids all had a blast getting autographs from the various characters, and the adults had a blast having permission to act like kids.

It really was a fun evening, which ended up not costing me anything because my potato was taken care of by my friends who'd invited me.

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Today I spent a lot of time on Craigslist. I found the gigs section, which somehow I'd missed before. I ended up emailing 3 different ads.

One I got a reply on quickly - asking me for $10 to cover 'training materials.' Next.

A second one sounds a lot like Ch@Ch@, except you are based in a building and you do a lot more than just look up answers to questions. The pay per hour is about $1/hr less than what I was making, but I would get full benefits, plus have the possibility of merit raises.

I had to google the answers to 3 questions and include the links to where I found my answers in my email. That was kind of fun.

The third one was for a Nanny position taking care of two 3 year old twins. From what I could tell, it is a 4-day a week job (Tue - Fri at 1p.m.) Amazingly, the pay is slightly more than I made per week at my former job, but no benefits. (Well . . I'd say playing all day with two little ones counts as a big benefit.)

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Tomorrow I have to call work in Texas and figure out why I can't log in to the site. Well, it will let me log in, but not actually go anywhere - it says there is no account associated with my log in??? I will be *majorly* annoyed if my information has been lost, because I spent *numerous* hours putting together the info for the resume on it.

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I found out how much my UI will be. It's roughly 55% of my former paycheck.

I can send in a form to have 10% withheld for Fed Tax if I want to. I'm not sure if I'm going to do that or not.

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Monday plan:
1. Call Work in Texas about website logging in
2. Call Cobra company to find out if TX is participating in the 65% deal, and when it goes into effect -- also if they *must* have a paper coupon
3. Make bank deposits
4. Exercise
5. Work gym from 11:30 - 5
6. Finish trash run - do dishes
7. Check Craigslist

I got a phone call from E this morning at 6:47 a.m. asking me if I could go in early - as in ASAP. The person who was supposed to be there had gotten a bad sunburn and was pretty ill.

I made it over to the gym by a little after 7:30.

One big accomplishment today -- for the first time since before Christmas break, I did my 30 minute run! Of course, I scaled it back a lot since it had been such a long time, but I ran for a total of 18 out of 35 minutes. Yay!

I found out from E that both of the people who I'd talked to about joining the gym have signed up! Bonus time!

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I got my Cobra letter today. Just for Medical it'll be $398/mo. It didn't mention anything about the 65% Stimulus discount - but it was dated on the 17th.

I'm going to call them on Monday to clarify about that, plus some other items.

I worked at the gym from 8 to 3 today. It was pretty uneventful, except that one person came by who was interested in joining. If he joins, I'll get a bonus. On Friday a woman came by who was interested in personal training - she set up an initial appt w/E, but wasn't able to keep it. But if she ends up signing on, I'll get another little bonus.

After I finished at the gym, I met my former OM in front of our office building. She gave me my severance check, and a few items I'd forgotten in my haste to leave.

For some reason, looking at that check took me back a few steps in dealing with the loss. I was a zombie for the next few hours - even through my doctor appt and stoping at Walmart.

When I was putting my groceries in my trunk, I realized I still hadn't brought in my box of stuff from my former life. It had sat there since Friday.

Once I got home I checked my mail. There were a number of important letters.

2 of them were from Texas Work Force. 1 said that as of Feb 22 I have to complete at least 5 work jobs each week - submitting an application, contacting an employer, attending a seminar, etc.
That sounds like a lot to me, especially when I see what the job listings look like. But . . I'll do whatever it takes.

The third piece of mail was a summons to serve on the Jury on March 9. I wonder if Work in Texas will exempt me from the 5 thing if I get picked for a jury, esp if it lasts more than a day? I've had Jury Summons before, but never made it to the courthouse. My group number always seems to get dismissed - maybe it's because of my last name being in the latter part of the alphabet?

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Thursday's Accomplishments:
1. Worked gym from 8 to 3
2. Dropped off severance paperwork
3. went to doctors appt
4. grocery shopping (spent too much, bought some junkfood.)
5. Worked on work in texas resume

This morning I made it to the Work Force Center about 8:20. The seminar I was going there for started at 9, but I thought I'd get there early in case there was a typing test or something else I could do.

At first when I asked one of the ladies at the front desk about the seminar, she looked like she didn't know what I was talking about. Then when I told her the name of it, she was like, "Oh! WIA. Are you in the WIA?"

Trying not to sound stupid, I told her I didn't know what the WIA was. (I'm still not sure what the letters stand for!)

She told me that it was a program for people who had been laid off and want/need training in job skills in order to get a better job. Also, she told me that the seminar I came to attend was one of the requirements for the program - that most people didn't choose to attend it. Luckily I'm not most people, right?

Another lady who was nearby spoke up and told me that WIA was a great program. That it was paying for her to go through training to be a medical secretary. Not only are they paying her tuition, but they also are giving her gas cards for getting to school (and presumably a part-time job.)

Hmmm.... this sounded interesting.

I am going to attend the next orientation session on Tuesday to see if I qualify, and what all it entails. (There is a session on Monday afternoon, but I'm working at the gym then.)

I'm just thinking that going the route of being a medical secretary wouldn't be a bad idea - or at least the training for it. Will have to check into pay scales on it though.

Another possible route is to take computer training on Quickbooks or other accounting software - both of which seem to be asked for quite often in the admin asst ads I'm looking at.

****Would it be bad of me to take advantage of this program if I qualify, considering I do have financial resources available to me, while others may not??***

The second thing I learned today was at the seminar. It actually became a one-to-one session because the room it was to be held in was occupied, and the presenter only had space for one person in his cubicle. The other two rescheduled for tomorrow.

The seminar was going through the functionality of the work in Texas website. I'd already signed up on it, as well as done a good bit of exploring, but he was able to show me a lot of things I had not figured out yet. He also gave me a lot of great hints and tips.

So, my visit this morning to the Work Force Center was well worth my time - even though they don't have an official typing test.

Didn't clean, didn't exercise, didn't finish applications (although did make some progress on one of them.)

On Craigslist I found a number of interesting postings. One was for AmeriPlan, which I don't think is right for me. Another one was for a different tutoring company than AtoZ, which I did apply for and took a number of qualifying tests.

A third one though made me annoyed. I responded to an ad for an admin asst with a starting hourly rate slightly higher than what I made. I received a reply back with a link to a website to fill out an application. I filled out the application, copied and pasted my resume, and submitted.

After submitting, the next page was a list of online colleges where you could 'further your career opportunities' and nothing else. So now I'm wondering if the ad wasn't just a scam to get you to give your contact info so they can bug you to death to apply to one of those online schools.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.

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One thing I've been trying to wrap my brain around today is the fact that all the money which I've been earning from my side jobs, and which I've completely allocated towards savings goals, is now not really 'extra monies' but is now 'NOW' monies.

I'm trying to figure out if the money I have stashed in my general Extra Monies account, but not allocated yet, should be put in my Next Month fund for general spending, or go to where I'd put it if life was normal.

You see, right now I am using the money I earned in January for expenses. In March, I'll use the money I earned in February (including the severance pay I guess.) So by April, I'll presumably need to use the monies earned in March.

Since there will be no full-time income coming during March (unless a miracle happens) the only income will be from side jobs or unemployment.

So . . . maybe for February I will go ahead and allocate my extra monies normally, since I'll have a 'normal' income. But then in March, whatever comes in from whatever source, will go to fund April's budget.

Am I making any sense?

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Tomorrow my mom wants me to go with her to some travel business seminar she thinks I could really do well with. I think I'm going to tell her I'm more than happy to meet her for lunch somewhere, but am not interested in MLM (which is what this is.)

What I hope to accomplish on Wednesday:

1. Attend seminar at workforce center - maybe see if I can take typing tests and/or other computer proficiency tests

Tomorrow's Goals:
1. Send in paperwork for severance
2. Search Craigslist for odd jobs
3. Apply at company scfr told me about
4. Spend at least two hours cleaning apt
5. Fill out state application
6. Catch up on blog series posts
7. Exercise at least one hour
8. Finish resume info for TWF and AtoZ

My mom called me tonight and told me that she has an interview for a position which I think she'd be awesome at - a teacher trainer/evaluator. She's one of 7 people being interviewed. I think she has an excellent chance.

First of all I want to say how much I appreciate all of your kind words and support regarding the loss of my job. It was a tremendous comfort.

Like I feared, I am having extreme pressure put on me now to go to CA.

I really don't know what to do. I've tried to make the pro and con's lists - logically and emotionally. But what gets me every time is that either way I'm going to end up hurting one parent or the other.

The loss of my job and the feelings of being rejected are really hitting me hard. I really don't know how people cope with this who don't have supportive family and friends. I really don't. Because I'm just barely hanging on.

My brother and I talked for a long time tonight. He's trying very very hard to be objective and not pressuring me one way or the other. He suggested that maybe I should take off on a cruise or something for a few days - basically get out of range and see if I can get my head clear.

As nice as a cruise sounds, I know I wouldn't feel at all comfortable spending that much money with no income to replace it. But, I think he is right in the concept - maybe just get away somewhere for a few days and be "out of range".

I'm really really tempted to call my ex in Lincoln. The last time I heard from him was nearly a year ago via email. But of everybody I know in real life, I think he'd have the best ability to be impartial and clear headed. But to open that can again probably would be a mistake.

I stay here in Dallas - my mom's happy, and I get to continue to watch my best friend's kids grow up. Kid's I fed bottles to when they both were barely a week old. But the possibility of me remaining single is pretty high.

I go to CA - my dad, my brother, other dad side relatives are happy. I maybe have a better chance of meeting an SDA man. I maybe have a better chance of being in an environment accepting of my lifestyle choices. I maybe have a chance to get to know my uncle's two little ones whom I haven't seen since they were 3 and 5.

I think by saying the only way I'd move to CA was if I had a job lined up, I allowed myself to not really have to make a decision. Now that I don't *have* a job here or in CA, I don't really have a good way of getting out of making a decision.

There are job possibilities which I could pursue here in Texas - but what if staying here really isn't the right decision? If I get another job here, then I'm making the decision to stay.

I'm so frustrated and confused about what to do right now that I could scream!

So today about 11:30 I'm in the file room working on well .. filing. The OM comes by and tells me to see SK before I head to lunch.

First thought is 'Oh S*(*&!' I'm fired!" Then I start thinking- no, that can't be it. The 15 th will be 3 years at the company - maybe its a raise. Maybe it's something completely innocuous- that's happened before.

So, finally I go back there to see SK. Long story short - I was let go.

They're giving me two-weeks severance and insurance till the end of the month.

Both SK and the OM told me that they would be happy to give me good references. That all the people making the big salaries have taken pay cuts, that the new land asst had been cut to three days a week, etc. They also told me that I was rehirable if the oil situation changed.

I'm upset right now mainly because, well who wants to be let go, right? But also I am going to really miss one co-worker who've I felt really connected to.

But in a way I feel kind of relieved. You all have read my complaints about my job, and my life in general.

I'm trying to see this as a forceful push to stop the broken record and actually do something different.

E, at the gym has already said he'll give me as many hours as he can at the location near my apartment. So, that's something at least until I can figure out what I'm going to do.

Maybe I'll go back to school - not really sure for what, but even though my mom believes I have really marketable skills, I'm not so sure about that.

The good part of all this is I have enough money between all my savings that I could survive, even paying Cobra, for probably 12 months. With unemployment and the hours I get at the gym, I could probably stretch my savings quite a bit more than that.

I also have people who will help me as much as they can. But in reality, I am an adult and need to do this as much as possible on my own.

Today at work one of the things I was doing was hole punching a bunch of articles my manager had pulled out of various oil and gas magazines. Some of the pages needed to be turned so that the articles title would be facing up.

For some reason an article about a well in Kentucky caught my eye. The article was from 1991. A long time oil man had drilled over 7,000 wells over a period of 39 years. But none of them had been really great ones. He always had the dream to find an amazing discovery.

By a fluke of luck, he happened to acquire the mineral rights to a patch of land near the Kansas and Tennessee border. On it were a couple wells already that were producing, but not very much.

He chose one of them to deepen.

Several days after the redrilling began, his drilling foreman ran over to him with a worried look on his face. The well, which had previously been producing only 5 barrels of oil (BO) a day, was now GUSHING oil.

There just so happened to be a man at a nearby gas station with a couple backhoes on his way to another job. They got this man to come to their well and start digging pits to put the oil in - because otherwise it was going to go into a nearby creek.

The man with the backhoes stayed for 3 1/2 days and dug 10 pits for the oil. All of which filled up as fast as the pumpers they hired could drain them.

The well was now producing upwards of 300 BO per HOUR!

Needless to say, this was the fulfillment of a lifetime long dream of the oilman. He never gave up, even after drilling over 7,000 wells all over the world and 39 years.

I was just completely riveted by this story. I really wish I had a link to it so you could all read it for yourself.

It just spoke to me. I have dreams that I sometimes wonder if it's even worth it anymore to even keep dreaming about. Dreams I've had since I was little. But here's this man who never gave up after 39 years - and he finally made it!

If he could keep his dream alive, then so can I!

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There is this Cat/Dog blog which I check on a daily basis. There is this amazing story of how a dog helped an old man and how God works in our lives.

* Watched the Ben Carson story "Gifted Hands' on TNT at my mom's house Saturday night. I'd read the book years ago, and always thought it was a very amazing story.

* My mom and step-dad's dog Millie who I dog sat for a number of times is really failing. She's been pretty much deaf for a few months now, has cataracts, and just this past week her back legs are not supporting her very well. She is such a sweet dog. I'm afraid my mom and stepdad are going to have to make a hard decision soon.

* Coke Rewards program seems to be attempting to lessen the amount of points possible to earn. Starting soon, you'll only be able to enter 120 points per week. It used to be a limit of 10 codes per day with no point limit. I have the feeling the program is going to be eliminated completely soon.

* I had an ING referral bonus. First one of 2009.

* A man who I had a major crush on from Kindergarten till 5th grade friended me on Facebook. He was always so nice to me, even though he was a few years older. When my family moved away when I was in the 3rd grade, he and I exchanged letters and cards all the way till I went to college. His wife and I even graduated in the same class from college.

* I treated my mom and stepdad today to a matinee of "He's Just Not That Into You." We were going to see "New In Town" but we missed the early showing for it, so went with the other one instead. It was pretty funny and sweet.

* One week from today is my 3-year anniversary at work. Time really flies.

This afternoon I stopped by the gym location where E was working to pick up some more laundry soap, since I'd used the last of it this morning.

He told me that one of the gym patrons had been asking when I was going to come back and work out. oops

I told him I'd been having a few too many late nights. When he asked why, I told him part of it was because of working on my blog.

So . . .I told him the name of it (again) and he pulled it up before I left.

About 20 minutes later I was at the other gym and I get a call from E. He'd just read my post on the Economy Affecting Gyms. I explained to him that I'd been pretty ticked off when I wrote it, but that by the time I finished it, I had calmed down a good bit.

He told me he agreed with me about the problems gyms are facing. But then he asked me a question I didn't have an answer to.

What is the solution?

I was stumped.

I really am not sure that there is a solution right now with the way the economy is going. I think that it probably is going to get worse before it gets better.

I wish I had the answer.

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Today is Day 5 of my series on How To Show You Care Without Breaking the Budget - Musical Memories

I'll be heading over to my mom's tomorrow night, but will have new posts up Saturday and Sunday (Simple Pleasures and Sunday Sustenance).

Tonight as I was driving home from work and listening to the radio, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Out of nowhere, this super loud beep beep sounded.

There weren't any cars around me, so I had been kind of fazed out - which made the beep beep noise even more startling. It turns out that it was part of a commercial for some bank.

My adrenaline was *pumped* for at least the next 10 minutes. Seriously, that seems like a very stupid thing to do in a radio commercial. Most people are driving when they listen to their radio - and the beep beep was a good 50% louder than the volume of the rest of the commercial.

Later on in my drive home I was behind this van that had their left brake lights out. I managed to get beside her (it was a woman driving) and let her know about it.

She probably thought it was pretty weird having a total stranger do that, but I know I would appreciate it if someone did that for me. Hopefully she can get it fixed before she gets a ticket!

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If you'd like to see a picture of me from when I was about 11 years old right after having baked my first loaf of bread at my grandma's house, check out today's post:

I've been staying up so late the last couple weeks and am getting more and more tired - just dragging through my days. One thing I've noticed is that the more tired I get, the easier it is for me to justify spending money - namely on food - more precisely, on junk food. Barely a week into February and I've probably spent more than 45% of my food budget. Not good.

I really need to focus on getting to bed at a decent hour, so that I can also keep my focus on keeping a healthy budget and diet. And of course, getting to bed at a decent hour would help me be more likely to actually get to the gym for a workout!!

I think my tiredness is also partly why I've let some frustrations with the gym and the *other* company get to me more than they might have normally.

So . . confession time. I stopped at Sonic tonight and got a grilled cheese, onion rings and blast - $7 (including tip). Btw - they remembered not just a straw, but a spoon too!

Yesterday I picked up my gym paycheck from E. He didn't give me my timecard this time, so I am not sure how much extra he added to it, but the $35 extra was def. there.

He assured me I was fine to cash it that day - but then I reminded him of the two other checks I had. He asked me to wait till today. Which I did.

My coworker and I went to the bank the gym has an account at during our lunch break. My coworker waited for me in her car. I had to put my thumbprint on each check . . but . . they all cashed! Yay!

After work I stopped by my bank and deposited it, plus another check (refund from old administration company.) So, I added $210 to my extra monies funds today. Although, actually, $35 of it needs to go back into my buffer to pay myself back - so it's actually $175. Still, not bad.

Yesterday I stopped by my apartment's management's office to pay my rent and also to check about my lease.

I mentioned to the lady working there that I was trying to figure out what the best thing was to do, go month-to-month, or do a 6-month term.

She told me that whether I go month-to-month or 6 month, I still would have to give a 60-day notice, or pay the reletting fee. If I go with the 6-month term, and leave before it's up, I would be charged the reletting fee, plus probably the remainder of the lease.

I mentioned to her that I had been surprised that the price variation between the month-to-month and the 6 month term was so little - just $45. And that was part of what was making it hard for me to decide.

She then tells me, "Just stop having your nails done, and that will give you the extra $45/month."

She didn't know this of course, but the last time I had my nails 'done' was over two-years ago - and that was a gift from a friend. Of course, even that wasn't really what I think she was talking about. I think she thought I had those fake nails - those would definitely cost in the $45 range.

Nope, just have naturally long nails. I usually don't even notice their length until one of them breaks - then I chop them all off.

It was good advice really, just not anything that helped me much! LOL

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This month I am doing a series of posts called: Twenty Days and Ways To Show Someone You Care Without Breaking The Budget.

This weekend I received a letter from Chase alerting me that as of February 15, my WAMU provided MyPoints Visa card would no longer be participating in the Mypoints program. Instead, it will be converted to the Chase Flexible Points program.

They mention several times in the letter that 'you will receive a Chase card if you meet our requirements.' That line has made me somewhat curious. If you are a long time MyPoints Visa cardholder in good standing, but your credit history isn't up to snuff according to Chase, would they deny you a card?

Things that make you go hmmm....

I also receive an email from MyPoints. It also mentioned the fact that the WAMU Visa program was terminating as of Feb. 14. But it also stated that they are in the process of finding an even better alternative.